Chuck’s Eleventh Hour Fifty Nine Minute Conversion

Thursday morning, May 21, 1998 during our Church’s, Ten Days of Prayer, I experienced the strangest sensation in my upper chest. It seemed like an adrenaline rush similar to when one is startled. I took my pulse and discovered my heart was skipping a beat every fourth beat. This continued all day and through the night. Friday morning my wife, Paula, took me to the doctor. A thorough examination and an EKG confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my heart. The doctor assumed that I must have been having anxiety-related symptoms. I had just spent eight days in prayer; anxiety was my last problem. I returned to the church and took a nap. That evening we had a Praise and Worship service. During the first several songs I found I was too weak to stand. When I sat down I was too exhausted to hold my shoulders up. I folded my arms and leaned forward to the back of the next pew and laid my head on my arms. Then one of the songs reminded me of my Dad and I prayed for him, his health and his salvation. In just a few moments I sensed something had broken through in the Spirit realm. I turned to Paula and said, “I think Dad has died.” She responded that she thought he had also. Within moments my strength had returned and I felt just fine.

Little did we know that same Thursday in Kissimmee, Florida my Dad, Chuck Gutridge, went for his normal dialysis treatment. The nurse thought she heard a new sound around his heart and reported it to the doctor. The doctor admitted him to the hospital for a tune-up. In the wee hours of Friday morning he had a massive coronary and died. He was resuscitated with electric shock. Had he been at home he would have died.

Saturday my brother, Scott, drove from his home in Coral Springs, Florida to Kissimmee. When he arrived Dad told him of his experience the previous morning. He said that he had died and that it was a frightening experience. It was nothing like he expected. It was total darkness, a total void, yet, with complete consciousness. He was terrified and grasped desperately at my brother’s arm, “I can’t go back there!”

Scott called me, he called his pastor, and everyone else he could think would pray. He wanted every scripture regarding utter darkness and terror. In a subsequent discussion with Dad that afternoon they talked about spiritual matters. Scott told him that he had a rare privilege afforded to few men. He glimpsed the reality of Hell and was given a second chance. Dad said he believed in Jesus. (Paula notes, “Yes and the demons believe in Jesus also.”) Scott advised that was not enough, one must admit his need (confess his sin) and invite Jesus into his heart and receive Him as Lord and Savior. There in that hospital room Dad accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and received the gift of eternal life with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Tuesday, June 9, 1998 at about 6:20AM, Dad quietly went home to be with his Lord and Savior.

This was the culmination of years of prayer and effort. He was a very difficult subject for evangelism. His resistance to things of Christ was legend. He believed that when you died, it was like turning off a light, you just didn’t exist anymore. His view was that only weaklings needed a crutch like God. He believed that he had overcome every obstacle in life on his own strength and initiative and he would overcome the spiritual barriers as well. Over many years I beat him with the Bible, tried to guilt him into receiving Christ, got angry with him and even held him at arm’s length. We treated him as if he were a follower of Christ. We treated as a reprobate. It seemed nothing would pierce his resistance. Finally we resigned to love him unconditionally and pray without ceasing.

God was faithful to answer our prayers and show Dad the error of his thinking. Jesus says, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:13 NIV) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV) In this situation we had prayed for 23 years for his conversion. The method was extreme, but finally Holy Spirit did pierce his fierce resistance.

As for my heart symptoms, I believe that I was given the brief experience of an intercessor. Throughout history we know that those given the gift of intercession often experience the symptoms of those for which they are praying. This seems to be a gift of the Holy Spirit to focus one’s prayers very sharply. My symptoms drew my attention to my Dad and forced me to my knees when he needed it the most. The experience was quite a gift!

What can we learn from this? Hell is real! Prayer works! It’s not over till it’s over! The thief on the cross confirms God’s mercy even in the eleventh hour.